Christchurch brick barrels sewer rehabilitation
Annual Conference
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SCIRT (The Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team) is responsible for rebuilding horizontal infrastructure in Christchurch following the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. The head contractual agreement within SCIRT is an alliance between owner participants (Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, Christchurch City Council and New Zealand Transport Agency) and non-owner participants City Care, Downer, Fletcher, Fulton Hogan and McConnell Dowell. There are also many other Christchurch-based companies, who are part of SCIRT, playing a vital role in delivering the SCIRT programme of work.
The earthquakes have had an obvious effect on the visible environment in the city. Less obvious, but equally serious, is the destructive effect these earthquakes have had on the unseen underground utilities.
As one of NZ’s earliest established cities, Christchurch built many of its major sewers before the advent of reinforced precast concrete pipe, using unreinforced brick and concrete. Unfortunately, these brick sewers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of earthquakes, and present unique challenges in the investigation, design and construction phases of reconstruction works.
SCIRT has therefore prioritised brick barrel wastewater and stormwater pipelines in the Central City for rehabilitation, in order to prepare for the next phase of work, in which the roading and above ground infrastructure will be reconstructed.
This paper reviews the technical issues that we have had to address in the following areas